A Flash of the Lightning
by Techfish
Summary: On April 25th, 2024, the Flash engaged in battle with his oldest enemy: the Reverse-Flash, defeating him before disappearing in a flash of light. That was the second time. This is the story of how that day ended twice, and how, in the world's darkest hours and in the midst of its first true crisis, Barry Allen saved the multiverse. (Short chapters as separated by time and POV.)
1. Prologue

" _Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?_

 _Like a fast-flittering meteor, a fast-flying cloud,_

 ** _a flash of the lightning,_** _a break of the wave,_

 _he passes from life to rest in the grave."_

 _—_ _William Knox (1824)_

 _(quoted in_ Crisis on Infinite Earths _, 1985)_

On April 25th, 2024, almost ten years after the Flash brought hope and wonder into the world, the beloved hero engaged in an epic battle with his oldest enemy: the Reverse-Flash, defeating him before disappearing in a flash of light.

That was the _second_ time.

This is the story of how that day ended twice, and how, in the world's darkest hours and in the midst of its first true crisis, Barry Allen saved the multiverse.

Welcome, once again, to _Crisis on Infinite Earths_.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Readers that are familiar with the original story from the 80s will notice a lot of similarities, I hope. I've tried to stay true to the format. Enjoy!

* * *

April 24th, 2024

 **T = –00.00.45**

Barry Allen could hardly believe what had just happened. He'd fought Mark Mardon, the Weather Wizard, again, and won. In under a minute. He'd gotten so much faster every time he faced his old enemies. Barry could still remember when breaking the sound barrier was a challenge. Now he was flirting with faster-than-light speeds.

While he waited for the police to arrive with the right containment gear, Barry almost congratulated himself before he looked up and saw something impossible.

The sky was red.

Not sunset red, where the color changes closer to the horizon. Just a solid, blood crimson, as if the atmosphere had always meant to be that color and the traditional robin's egg blue was only an elaborate joke to be played on humanity.

The sight triggered a memory at the back of Barry's mind, something from so long ago he'd almost forgotten.

FLASH MISSING, VANISHES IN CRISIS

Before Barry could wonder any more about this development, he sensed a massive change in the surrounding air pressure and sprinted backward, just in time.

A blinding flash of light engulfed the space where he'd just stood.

He had no time to ponder what had just happened before he heard a small beeping sound from the emblem on his belt.

The Justice League of America was gathering.

So Barry sprinted away. Whatever his friends needed help with could come before his investigation into all these strange events.

The Flash watched the buildings of Central City go by in a blur of color. Then he turned his head, and saw… himself.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: The timestamps look better with subscript, but alas, there's only so much you can do with the FFN editor.

* * *

 **T1 = 00.00.00**

The Flashes blinked at one another.

Then he—the other he—vanished into his past. Into Barry's future.

Barry skidded to a halt before the white marble steps of the Hall of Justice, just across the boulevard from the Flash Museum, and walked inside, tabling the day's multiplying mysteries for another time.

The Hall of Justice was a museum in its own right, with artifacts and souvenirs from the group's many triumphs over the years on display in the entrance halls. Beyond them, however, was the seat of the Hall's primary purpose: the meeting place of the JLA.

Team members trickled in gradually, taking their customary seats around the long, rectangular conference table. Barry sat down at the head of the table. On his right was the Green Arrow, a.k.a. Oliver Queen, and on his left, Hawkgirl, a.k.a. Kendra Saunders. Beyond them, Firestorm and Vixen, Jefferson Jackson and Prof. Martin Stein, and Mari McCabe. Then the Atom and Vibe, Dr. Ray Palmer and Cisco Ramon. The Black Canary and Mr. Terrific, Laurel Lance and Curtis Holt.

The weekly meetings all began the same way. Roll was taken, and each Leaguer would give a report of the week's events. Villains defeated, disasters averted, and the like. This, however, was not a weekly meeting. The Leaguers had been called in, which only happened once or twice a year.

As it turned out, it had been Vibe that had sent the signal.

"I've been vibing all day," said Cisco, green goggles glowing. "I think it's safe to say something big is coming, and it has to do with the multiverse."

"Something extradimensional?" said Barry, thoughtfully. Only he and Cisco had had much experience with parallel worlds. "What have you been seeing?"

"It's… hard to explain. Sometimes just void. Other times, quick flashes of other worlds. Destruction everywhere, and at the heart of it all, this… gigantic… _thing_."

"You have no idea what it was?" asked Kendra.

"I've never seen anything like it, in our world or otherwise. So, no," said Cisco, frustrated.

"It's okay," said Barry. "Until we get more information, we'll just have to be prepared. The first thing we should try to do is determine whether or not it's connected to the freak earthquakes, volcanic activity, and unpredictable weather patterns we've been seeing around the globe—"

"Also, Barry," Cisco interrupted him, "I need to talk to you about the red sky."

"I know," Barry said, nodding. "I remember too."

"Sharing is caring, guys," said Laurel. "What are you talking about?"

"You've all heard of the Reverse-Flash, right?" said Cisco.

"How could we not? He's caused more problems for Barry than nearly all our bad guys put together," said Mari.

"About nine years ago," Barry began, "when Thawne was hiding in our time period and masquerading as Dr. Harrison Wells, he had a Time Vault in STAR Labs. In the Vault, he had a copy of the AI that I would eventually create, along with a newspaper, dated tomorrow."

This news was met with a general sense of unease.

"Weird, we know," said Cisco.

"Your world is stranger than ours." Ray smiled sympathetically.

"Gideon," Barry called out. "Show them."

" _Certainly, Flash,_ " said Gideon. From a projector at the other end of the table, a holographic image was created of the newspaper that had not been published yet.

"While he was in that time—our time—he used this as a kind of landmark for the future. I believe it's some kind of fixed event—something that would and must _always_ happen as long as I am the Flash. He used it to determine whether or not I would still be me—whether or not the future had remained intact despite his meddling."

"… 'Disappeared in an explosion of light'?" quoted Oliver, confused. "You never told me about this."

"I had hoped that with Thawne gone, the future had changed, but I was wrong. The sky is red, and whatever that light was, it's already had a go at me—just before I got the call."

The room fell silent. Barry could almost feel the apprehension—nobody was willing to say what they were thinking: that they were afraid.

"Barry…," someone spoke finally. It was Kendra. "Whatever this is… you have to outrun it. We can't afford to lose you, not right before this… crisis."

Barry didn't respond. He couldn't.

"There's something else," said Oliver suddenly. "What's wrong?"

Barry sighed.

"It isn't just… this," Barry gestured down the table to the glowing image of the paper. "On the way here, to the Hall, I… I ghosted."

Cisco groaned despairingly and laid his head down on his arms in front of him.

"Oh, this just gets better and better," he said, voice muffled by his sleeves.

"Barry… this is _good_ news," said Oliver, consolingly. "This means whatever happens in the next twenty-four hours, you get a do-over. Another chance."

Barry pinched the bridge of his nose. This had hardly begun and already it was getting too complicated.

"I'm sorry, Oliver, but you don't have to be the only one who remembers the terrible, _horrible_ thing that happens the _first_ time."

Oliver's smile faded.

"You're right," he said, and put a hand on Barry's shoulder. "I forgot. I'm sorry."

Barry shook his head apologetically.

"No, it's okay. In a way, you're right. It might give us the time we need to solve whatever this is."

Barry stood up, and the rest of the table followed suit.

"Atom, Firestorm, Hawkgirl—stay on the move," he said. "Help wherever you can. The rest of you, go home to your cities. They'll need you. Focus on relief efforts. I'll try to cover as much international ground as I can. And call the Titans," he added. "I have a feeling we're going to need _everyone_ for this."


	4. Chapter 3

**T1 = 00.37.53**

" _Go home to your cities… I'll try to cover as much international ground as I can._ "

 _In other words,_ thought Ray Palmer as he flew away to Coast City to protect the western edge of the continent, _you guys take the states, and I'll take everywhere else_. A bit of a tall order for one man, even if that man _was_ the Fastest Man Alive.

That wasn't what really bothered Ray, though—while he was surely capable, it was very out-of-character of Barry to take so much on by himself. He'd expected him to at least ask Hawkgirl or Firestorm to help with his efforts around the globe. Barry was never afraid to ask for help—that maturity was one of the many things he and Oliver admired about the Flash. Barry hardly had an ego to wound—so what was really going on?


	5. Chapter 4

**T1 = 05.16.48**

Fighting an earthquake in Canada, the Flash dodged between falling buildings and cracking pavement to reach survivors, wishing he knew how to stop these disasters. When the wave finally subsided, though, and Barry was sprinting south across the nations to fight a hurricane in Central America, he felt something.

It made him stumble, and he tripped—skidded and rolled across six miles of Mexican scrubland.

When he finally stopped, and pushed himself up onto his knees, he put a hand to the lightning emblem on his chest. He didn't know— _couldn't_ know where the feeling came from, but it was like a muted, wrenching pain. The dull ache of an old agony, in his head, in his chest, in his feet—in the _lightning_.

"You. You can feel it, can't you?"

The Flash started in surprise and looked up at the figure suddenly standing over him. It was a man with lilac hair and black irises, wearing a green cloak. His voice trembled. He was crying.

"The death throes of the multiverse," the man clarified. "In all of creation, only you can feel its passing." There was pity in his voice—the man felt compassion for Barry.

"Wh-why?" said the Flash, confused. Scared. "Who are you?"

The stranger knelt down beside him, covering his eyes to stem his tears.

"I am the Pariah," he said. "Any other name is meaningless. I am cursed by all creation to watch the death of the multiverse, one universe after another, unable to help, but I no longer matter. The last hope for eternity rests with you."

"Why?" Barry repeated. "Why me? What's happening?"

"Only you have the power to restore the world. You can repair the damage, remake the worlds as they were meant to be—as one."

"I don't understand," said Barry, but even as he watched, the stranger—the Pariah—was fading away.

"I'm being pulled to witness the next calamity," said the Pariah, looking down at his evaporating form. "You must fix this! _Save it! Save us—_ "

He was gone.

Barry trembled with that terrible combination of confusion and fear—helplessness.


	6. Chapter 5

**T1 = 14.48.19**

While protecting Star City from a flash flood, Canary and Mr. Terrific helped people out of cracks formed and buildings demolished during the last earthquake. Meanwhile, the Green Arrow fired a rope from the roof of a collapsing building, helping survivors evacuate to safer ground—"safer" being relative at this point.

As the last survivor slid down the rope and Oliver was about to follow, there was a sudden crack of thunder that was so _loud_ and so _close_ it startled him, and he looked around and saw… _Barry?_

Not… _quite_ Barry. The Flash's form was… vague. Blurred. Despite Oliver's better instincts, he moved forward, compelled to approach the image of his friend.

"Flash?"

Over the noise of the rain and thunder, Oliver caught a few words in the frantic, terrified voice of Barry Allen.

" _Keep running… the universe is dying—still hope—keep running!_ "

"Flash, can you hear me?" Oliver reached out to the speedster, but couldn't touch him. "Where are you?"

" _Got to keep—_ "

Another flash of lightning, crack of thunder, and the image of the Flash disintegrated before his eyes.

Not Barry. At least… not _yet_.

"Dear god," said Oliver Queen, a note of fear in his voice that had been absent for a very long time. He looked up at the relentless storm.

" _What is happening?_ "

* * *

A/N: Green Arrow gets Batman's line! This sequence is taken almost directly from one of the first chapters of the original story. For a while, I debated whether or not to change my favorite lines and give them a more modern spin, but I eventually decided against it. I loved Bruce's line so much I gave it to Oliver.

In the first version I wrote of this story, I included Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, but in the spirit of remaining true to the shows, I retconned that version in favor of this one. The story simply didn't need them, nor did the DCTVU.


	7. Chapter 6

**T1 = 15.02.45**

"I wanted to be here to see your darkest hour, Flash—and the best part is, I don't even have to defeat you. Time will do it for me—and you'll _let it happen!_ "

After almost fifteen hours of relentless efforts around the world—shielding Chile from a tsunami, helping refugees escape a volcanic eruption in Russia, of all places, helping in South Africa during an earthquake, evacuating a considerable fraction of Northern Ireland due to another, among countless others—the Flash had got a call from Cisco that a yellow blur was destroying the levees along the river between Central City and Keystone. Barry knew it would be Thawne, drawing him home to fight. He went anyway.

The fight was brutal, as it always was—when speedsters of comparable power clash, their speed becomes near-moot. It always left Barry forced to fight Thawne as normal humans fight—to his perception, slowly and with deliberation—but with considerably higher levels of collateral destruction. For Barry and Eobard, the rhythm was clear—swing, duck, swing, repeat—with no side gaining a significant lead.

That is, until Barry knocked the legs out from under the Reverse-Flash and punched him out cold in mid-air.

Barry hardly had the time to catch his breath before he felt that same bizarre drop in air pressure and leapt reflexively out of the way before he could think to stop himself.

The flash of light was blinding, but Barry was still there.

Oh, dear.

" _Flash!_ "

It was Mari.

"Vixen. Shouldn't you be in Michigan?"

Mari ignored his vague rank-pull.

"New instructions. He's fine, Arrow," she suddenly spoke into her earpiece. The Flash tuned into the JLA channel with his own.

" _—good news. Congratulations, Flash, you've just changed the future._ "

"Whether or not I've changed it for the _better_ remains to be seen," said Barry, with uncharacteristic cynicism.

" _Hey, if you're still around, how bad can it be?_ " Barry heard Wally cut in and smiled despite himself.


	8. Chapter 7

**T1 = 23.57.16**

So much worse. Oh, god, _so_ much worse.

After hours and hours of fighting the calamity, the Flash had returned to Central City to find a maelstrom of destruction.

The rest of his world's heroes were converging on his location, where the Flash could feel the universe shearing apart. From his position atop a crumbling skyscraper, Barry watched helplessly as a rift in spacetime opened directly overhead. Beyond the tearing fabric of the universe, Barry saw something he couldn't make sense of, at first—before he realized he was staring down the barrel of a higher-dimensional _cannon_.

He saw Mari, Ray, Kendra, and Firestorm fly over his head, straight at the breach.

"No! Wait!" he called out, but it was no use.

 _What have I done?_ thought Barry, and for the first time in a long time he felt more than helpless— _hopeless_.

Then Wally raced to his side, and Oliver arrived via grapple-arrow/gun/gadget/what-have-you with Roy, Laurel, and everyone else.

The _thing_ beyond the rift was glowing now, and Barry could see everyone gradually grasp the scale, the sheer magnitude of what they were facing. As the earth beneath them shook once more and the sky turned from blood red to the blackest of void, Oliver turned to Barry, gripped his arm tight, and looked at him with an expression that read _I'm sorry I didn't listen to you_ , and said:

" _Run._ "

But Barry was transfixed, and it took all of Wally's speed to pull him away as above them, reality collapsed.

 _Run, Barry! Run!_ he screamed without speaking and Barry felt Wally push him forward as they fled from the wave of null.

 _Run, Barry. Make sure this never happens. Fix it._

Then he hit the ground, and Barry _ran_.

He ran and ran, his eyes burning, screaming in anger and fear and frustration at the injustice of it all. He turned to look behind him at the wall of void that had engulfed his family, his friends, his _world,_ that was _pursuing him,_ but instead saw… himself.


	9. Chapter 8

**T2 = 00.00.00**

The Flashes blinked at one another.

Then he—the other he—vanished into his present. Into Barry's past.

Barry skidded to a halt before the white marble steps of the Hall of Justice, just across the boulevard from the Flash Museum, and dashed inside, pulling his mask down and breathing fast.

For a few fractions of a second that may as well have been hours, the Flash broke down and _cried_.

He fought to regain his composure before the other Leaguers arrived.

 _It's okay,_ he told himself. _It's okay, there's still hope._ For some reason, he'd been given another chance. He was back at the starting line. _There's still time to fix this, to stop that from happening. To change the future._

And then, with an awful, horrible, sinking feeling, the Flash realized that he already knew what the consequences would be.


	10. Chapter 9

**T2 = 00.32.15**

During the emergency meeting, Barry tried to act as though his universe _hadn't_ just ended. He struggled to match his words to those he'd spoken the time before. When Cisco reminded him of the newspaper from the future, Barry could only nod and let him explain, because he couldn't stop wondering about how he was yet another day older than the world around him, how he'd had one day of time that nobody else had in all of creation.

At one point, Oliver asked him if he was alright, and Barry knew he was putting on a poor show, and he couldn't help but think of the _regret_ in Oliver's face before the world ended.

Then he put the mask back on, and nodded reassuringly all the same, because _you're the Flash, you can do anything, you can save the world, you have to_.

"Go home to your cities," Barry said, again. "They'll need you. Focus on relief efforts. I'll try to cover as much international ground as I can… and call the Titans. We're going to need everyone for this."

This time, though, as everyone stood and Barry walked down past the table as calmly as he could, Cisco called out.

"Barry…," he said, and Barry almost flinched at the anxiety in his voice. "You've hardly spoken. This could be really bad news. Mostly for you."

"It's going to be fine, Cisco," said Barry. He took a breath, and tried to put every bit of his certainty and his hope for his friends' futures into his next words.

"Everything will be alright."

But when he turned to go, he felt Cisco grab his arm, and looked back as Cisco's expression froze.

 _Oh, no._

After a few moments, Cisco released his grip.

"Oh my god," he said, clearly horrified.

Barry looked at him a moment longer, then vanished in a blur of red and gold.


	11. Chapter 10

**T2 = 00.35.51**

"Cisco, what just happened?" Oliver asked.

"Guys," Cisco said shakily, "I think Barry just witnessed the end of the universe."

"You vibed on him?" said Kendra. Cisco nodded.

"He must've ghosted," he said. "That's why he looked so shaken up when he got here. He'd just come from twenty-four hours in the future, where he _saw the world end_."

"Call the Titans. We need Wally on the line _yesterday,_ " said Laurel. "We have to find him."


	12. Chapter 11

**T2 = 02.42.27**

"Flash! Barry! _Wait!_ "

He was halfway across the Pacific when Wally found him. Barry flinched, but he did slow down to meet his partner.

"Barry… you have to tell us what's wrong."

"You already know. Cisco saw it, didn't he?" Barry couldn't keep the frustration out of his voice.

"He saw the end of the world. _You_ saw the end of the world."

"I saw the end of the _universe,_ Wally. Of the _multiverse_. I _felt_ it."

"Then come back! Tell us what happened, we can work together—find a different way—"

"Don't you understand? I already tried that!" Barry blurted. "I tried to change the future, _my_ future, and _that_ was the result. I have to get it _right_ this time."

"We can help—"

"No. Wally, please…," Barry pleaded with him. "You have to let me go."

"Barry…"

Barry took one more look at him—Wally West, the man Barry had come to care for like a brother—and sped away, leaving him behind.


	13. Chapter 12

**T2 = 05.17.32**

This time, when the Pariah found him, Barry tried to question him further. He had to know what it was that would destroy his world, but the stranger couldn't help him.

"I'm being pulled to witness the next calamity," said the Pariah, looking down at his evaporating form. "You must fix this! _Save it! Save us—_ "

"Wait!" Barry cried, and before he knew what he was doing, he seized the Pariah's vanishing arm.

He felt a shaking, twisting sensation, and when he looked up again, he was staring at the deteriorating skyscrapers of National City.

"No!" said the Pariah, horrified at what he'd accidentally done. "You have to go back, it's too late for this world!"

"I have friends here!" the Flash shouted over the thunder. "Let me save them!"

Without waiting for an answer, Barry sprinted away, looking for any sign of his old ally, Supergirl.

He found her almost at once, with her sister and their Martian friend, J'onn. They were standing at the top of a building, staring up at a hole in the sky that looked horribly familiar.

"Kara!" he shouted, and she turned.

"Barry? What are you—"

"Run! _Now!_ " he commanded, without time for explanations. He felt J'onn in his head, comprehending his purpose, and the Martian nodded.

" _Move it!_ "

Barry seized Kara and Alex by the hands while Kara held fast to J'onn's and Barry sprinted them away just in time.

The eruption of void chased them across the continent. Barry ran with all his might, and felt the lightning spark within him, drawing his friends in close. With a trembling, shaking shock, he pulled them all right out of reality.


	14. Chapter 13

**T2 = 05.20.13**

They tumbled gently to the ground—stunned, scared, and without a universe to call their home—but alive… and with two additional companions.

Jay and Jesse sat up beside Barry, looking terrified and confused.

"Oh my god," said Kara, raising herself from the rain-soaked grass. "Barry, what _was_ that?"

"I don't know."

"Where are we?" asked Jesse.

" _My_ world."

"How?" asked J'onn.

"I don't know. I don't know _anything_ —only that whatever just happened to _your_ universe," he pointed at J'onn, Kara, and Alex, "is going to happen to mine in under twenty hours, unless I can do something to stop it."

"Oh, god," said Kara, comprehending. "The world just died."

"Yours too?" said Jay, looking hopeless.

"I know," said Barry, and he took Kara's hands consolingly. "I know, I'm sorry. God, I'm _so sorry,_ but my world is dying too, and we need help."

"Tell us what to do," said Alex.

* * *

A/N: _Speed Force-ex-machina!_ (Wouldn't it be " _Deus-ex-Speed Force_ "?) I know, I'm sorry. I wanted Jay and Jesse to be here, and I figured I'd play with that link that Wally had to his kids in the comics. It's not the same, but I hope it's enough.


	15. Chapter 14

**T2 = 14.57.42**

" _You've reached Iris West-Allen. I'm probably busy, leave a message!_ "

 _Beep._

"Hey, Iris, it's Barry. I'm just calling to let you know I'll be… out late. The world is… _breaking_ … I have to fix it. Goodbye—I love you."

 _Beep._

Barry sighed. Then he heard static in his earpiece.

" _Barry? Barry, I know you can hear me._ "

It was Kendra.

" _Come home, Barry. Please. Let us help, you know we can._ "

"If that were true, I would, I promise. You know I would."

 _Barry Allen._

"J'onn?" Barry felt the Martian reach into his mind to make a telepathic link.

 _You are afraid. Please, share your burden._

"I can't. We all have our parts to play, and I finally understand mine."

 _I…_

Barry felt J'onn scanning his thoughts for clues and tried to hide the truth, but he couldn't—he had never been a good liar, and he wore his heart on his sleeve.

 _No… No! Flash, you mustn't—_

"I'm sorry, J'onn. Don't tell Kara and Alex. And whatever you do, don't give up hope."

 _Flash! Fla—_

J'onn's protests tore at him, but Barry concentrated and sped up his thought processes, essentially thinking too fast for J'onn to follow. He knew J'onn wouldn't heed him—his friends had a tendency to respect his wishes only until those wishes affected him personally.

He'd been keeping an eye on the time as he sped around the world, fighting disasters and saving lives. It was almost time for the Reverse-Flash's confrontation. Barry knew what he had to do.


	16. Chapter 15

**T2 = 15.02.45**

"I wanted to be here to see your darkest hour, Flash—and the best part is, I don't even have to defeat you. Time will do it for me—and you'll _let it happen!_ "

This time, Barry knew what Thawne meant. He was coming to terms with it.

The fight with Thawne was harsh, but Barry knew exactly what would happen and when. Foreknowledge or no, the Reverse-Flash was predictable, and not as creative as Barry with his speed. When Barry could get one in, one good punch at around Mach 1 was enough to mean lights out for the Professor.

With the fight finished, Barry stopped, and took one more look at Central City. His city—beaten by pelting rain and earthquakes and the unending thunderstorm.

The Flash took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and waited.

When he opened his eyes, he wasn't on Earth anymore.


	17. Chapter 16

**T2 = 15.05.09**

" _I'm sorry… We're too late. He's gone,_ " said Mari, sounding frightened.

Oliver's breath hitched in his chest. He swallowed. The comm was silent for several long moments.

" _What do we do now?_ " said Ray, after a while.

"What we always do," said Oliver, when he'd found his words, and in saying them felt his confidence return. "We trust Barry. We do our job—we do our best."


	18. Chapter 17

**T** **2 = INFINITY**

This, most certainly, was _not_ Earth. It wasn't even Earth-2, but it did give Barry that funny feeling of being out-of-sync with reality, which he'd grown familiar with on his visits outside of his universe. He recognized the meaning of the sensation—that the vibrations of the world around him were alien to his own. His internal clock was out of sorts as well—he sensed that time had little meaning here, wherever here was.

All around him was black—void—but he was definitely lying on something flat and solid. A gut instinct told him that this was wrong, that there _should_ be light here but his eyes weren't working properly to see it. He rolled over onto his stomach, lifting himself up onto his elbows, but felt a sudden, strange vertigo, and he moved no further.

Another instinct, an unquantifiable sense connected to his miraculous speed, revealed a hum of power nearby—power, and life.

"H-hello?" he called out, his voice unsteady under the weight of the sheer alien-ness of his surroundings, or lack thereof. Nothing was familiar, he had no point of reference, and when no reply came, his heart went cold with fear and confusion.

"Who's there? Why can't I see you?" he tried again. When there was still no answer, Barry felt his fear replaced by frustration.

"What do you want from me?" he said angrily. "What are you afraid of? _Show yourself!_ "

Finally, Barry heard movement near where he estimated the powerful humming thing to be.

 ** _FLASH, YOU ARE A FOOL TO THINK YOU CAN BAIT ME. I AM NOT MOTIVATED BY MERE EMOTION._**

The thing spoke with a voice beyond sound.

 ** _I HAVE BEEN BUSY ELSEWHERE, BUT, IF YOU TRULY WISH TO SEE ME… I SEE NO REASON I SHOULD DENY YOU THAT PRIVILEGE._**

The veil obscuring his vision lifted, and the Flash looked up at a giant—an enormous, terrifying figure whose eyes glowed with black light—all made of a terrible non-existence that the scientist in him recognized as anti-matter. Behind it, he saw the structure of the weapon he'd witnessed destroy his world almost twenty-four hours previously.

 ** _GREETINGS, FLASH. I HOPE THE ANTICIPATION HAS BEEN WORTH IT. I AM THE MONITOR—AND VERY SOON I SHALL BE RULER OVER ALL WHO LIVE!_**

"Tough talk," said Barry boldly, and he felt his fear evaporate as he realized what he had to do. "You'd better be ready to back it up."

In a flash, he overcame the paralyzing vertigo and sprinted beneath the giant, vibrating right into the heart of the cannon.

* * *

A/N: In my personal copy, I have an actual mobius (infinity) symbol as the timestamp. I guess special characters don't work properly. Shame.

The Anti-Monitor's lines, with the exception of a single, very minor change, are quoted straight from the original in a scene mirrored by this one. I decided to omit the Psycho-Pirate for simplicity, since no such character has (thus far) been introduced in the TVU (although Rainbow Raider has similar emotion-inducing powers in the show).


	19. Chapter 18

**T2 = 23.31.55**

Jay and Jesse had turned up out of nowhere with Kara, Alex, and J'onn, Barry's _other_ friends from a parallel universe. No one had had any time to figure out how the Flash had pulled them to (relative) safety, though Cisco had rambled about the Speed Force and dimensional frequencies for as long as Oliver could listen. Jay had explained that their universes had been destroyed, but there was no time to mourn, since _this_ world— _their_ world—was next in line.

J'onn ( _the Martian?_ ) had revealed that the Flash was doing… something… about the catastrophe. What it was, J'onn couldn't—or _wouldn't_ —say, but it had him visibly shaken. And there was still no time—no time for anything, and Cisco had called everyone home to Central City, where _something_ was happening.

Oliver and the Star City team met Cisco and the three speedsters at the top of a building close to STAR Labs. Their flight-capable friends hovered over their heads as, with a rumble Oliver felt in his bones, the sky split apart.


	20. Chapter 19

**T** **2 = INFINITY**

The inside of the cannon was expansive, but the Flash's eyes were drawn instantly to the center, where an enormous mass of power was assembling and converging. If he could _contain_ that power source, force it in on itself, the weapon would tear itself apart—he hoped.

So the Flash straightened up, took a deep breath, and did the only thing he could—he ran.

He ran until the energy around him tore at his body, and kept running. The pain was unimaginable, the power source he was destroying was in turn destroying him.

He ran for the lives of his friends, for the lives of a multiverse.


	21. Chapter 20

**T2 = 23.56.33**

Cisco Ramon stared in horror up the barrel of a higher-dimensional cannon, but something was different. This was not the end Barry had witnessed in Cisco's vision. Something had _changed_.

The heart of the cannon was shaking. _Breaking._

" _Look!_ " Curtis pointed, but it was unnecessary. The base of the cannon was coming apart at the seams, and within, they could see light. Gold lightning.

"Oh, god. _Barry,_ " said Cisco. Then he saw the dark giant behind it.

" _There!_ " he shouted, pointing. "That thing is responsible for this!"

Without pause, without the slightest hesitation, the Atom, Hawkgirl, Vixen, Supergirl, and the Martian Manhunter all dove into the rift.

" _Push him back into the void!_ " Kara shouted, and they attacked the monster with everything they had.


	22. Chapter 21

**T** **2 = INFINITY**

Beyond sound. Beyond light.

 _It's not enough,_ Barry told himself, pushing himself farther. Faster.

Beyond time.

 _Oliver?_

His surroundings were a blur of light, but ahead of him he saw a distorted image of his friend.

" _Flash?_ "

"Oliver? I have to keep running—" Barry tried to explain, but he was breathless with effort and pain. "The universe is dying, but there's—still hope. I have to keep running…"

" _Flash, can you hear me? Where are you?_ "

"Got to keep running—"

Then, in an instant, Oliver was gone, and he was still running.

Beyond existence.

The surface beneath his feet melted away, and the Flash was still running, barely conscious of what he could feel happening to his body—to the universe. In the distance, on his horizon, he saw a glimmer. A flicker of gold, of _lightning,_ and knew that if he could reach it, all would be well. If he could just get _there,_ the world would be saved.

With every thundering step, the fragmented multiverse was sewn together in his wake, and what had been many became one. A new Earth—strong, whole, and healed.

And Barry Allen left the mortal world behind.


	23. Chapter 22

**T = 24.00.00**

A flash of golden light blinded Oliver, but somehow, he wasn't afraid anymore. This, he inexplicably knew, was _not_ what the end of the world looked like. The light encompassed everything, and he felt… new.

After what felt like a long time, the light faded.

The cluster of heroes were no longer atop a crumbling building. Instead, they stood, unscathed, on the street before the white marble steps of the Hall of Justice, just across the boulevard from the Flash Museum.

The group that had driven back the monster from the rift were sitting up from the ground, as if they'd been unconscious moments ago.

But it was not the un-cracked pavement or the buildings still intact, or even the clear blue sky that drew the heroes' eyes. It was the red and gold suit that lay tattered, crumpled, and empty on the street between them.

"No…"

Cisco was the first to speak—the first to approach it.

He dropped to his knees, took the empty red material into his arms, and cried.

Wally was next, kneeling down beside Cisco to hug him consolingly, even as he shed tears himself.

Not one of them was immune, and the heroes clustered together, holding on as if contact and proximity would lessen the pain.

When people started to venture out onto the streets, Oliver dried his eyes, and ushered the grieving heroes into the Hall, where they could mourn in peace.

And they did.

In the aftermath of the calamity which would come to be known as the First Crisis, the new Earth was found to have elements from many (formerly) parallel worlds. National City, from Kara and Alex's world, was there, and the speedsters from Earth-2. There were now more heroes than there had ever been, and only the heroes remembered it ever being any different—in fact, many had memories from two different lives, one from their pasts, where the worlds were separate, and one from the new history together. Both truths were as real as each of them.

Statements were made to governments national and international by the Justice League, explaining what had happened… and what had been lost.

The world loved and mourned the Flash, and the Justice League mourned Barry Allen with his friends and family, but the world was not empty or dimmed in his absence. In fact, during thunderstorms, those closest to him almost felt him with them—their guardian angel.

Time moved forward.

* * *

A/N: God. I swear, writing the later chapters was like emotional self-torture.


	24. Epilogue

**_Epilogue_**

"You shouldn't be showing me this," said Cisco. "You might change the future, you know how weird this time travel stuff is."

Ray looked at him imploringly.

"I know, I know, but it's been six months, and I thought it would change, but it hasn't. I had to show _someone_."

Cisco nodded despite himself. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the picture Ray had handed him. It was an image of the Justice League… from the year _2164_. It was a wide shot, and at its center, shoulder to shoulder with heroes Cisco didn't recognize, was Barry Allen… the Flash.

"What do you think it means?" Ray asked, but Cisco could tell he already knew.

Barry Allen might be gone for now, but one thing was certain…

The Flash had a lot of race left to run.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed my vision of _Crisis on Infinite Earths_ in the DCTVU. Now, fly away with hope in your hearts, beauties, and keep reading - there are many more stories to be had.


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